Sustainability in Food Services

Information as of August 2013

Local

Food Services currently offers a variety of local options to choose from including companies, such as Tim’s Cascade chips which are locally processed in Algona, WA, and locally grown food such as produce from Inaba Farms located in Wapato, WA. Below is a small sample of the local farmers and companies we use:

NAME

PRODUCTS

LOCATION

Inaba Produce Farms

Squash and Zucchini

Wapato, WA

Spooner Farms

Blackberries and Strawberries

Puyallup, WA

Carpinito Bros Farm

Green cabbage, cilantro, lettuce varieties

Kent, WA

Ostrom Farm

Mushroom varieties

Olympia and Everson, WA

Seattle Bagel Company

Bagels

Seattle, WA

Northern Fish Products

Salmon products

Tacoma, WA

Organic

We currently have some organic items and the Sustainable Foods Group (SFG) is working with our vendors to obtain a comprehensive list of organic products.

Fair-Trade

The SFG is currently conducting research to identify which third-party vendors meet fair-trade standards.

Food labeling

The SFG is currently conducting research on food labeling software that could label: ingredients and highlight common allergens, nutritional information, local, organic, fair-trade, as well as labeling products as vegetarian and vegan.

American Humane Certified

Foster Farms, which provides Food Services with various chicken products, is American Humane Certified.

Food Packaging

Composting

Most of the food containers and eating utensils in the cafeteria and cafes are compostable, including those you might not suspect like coffee cups and lids, forks and knives and salad bar containers. Third party items like prepared sushi items may be in recyclable containers or may not – so be sure to sort your waste.

Waste oil

Bellevue College distributes waste oil locally for the production of biodiesel.

Reusable Mug Discount

Food Services currently offers a 25 cent discount when a customer purchases a drink in a reusable cup.